As part of Good Friday observance, Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen James F. Checchio participated in a Way of the Cross procession with with the Catholic Hispanic Community at St Joseph Church in Carteret.
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Christina Tillinghast, a junior at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, has found inspiration in the tenacity and faith fostered by S. Esther Hernandez, RSM, who resides on campus, thanks to a theology project she completed this fall.(Photo11: ~Courtesy of Mount Saint Mary Academy)

WATCHUNG – Christina Tillinghast, a junior at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, has found inspiration in the tenacity and faith fostered by Sister Esther Hernandez, RSM, who resides on campus, thanks to a theology project she completed this fall.

Tillinghast and her peers were instructed to write an autobiography to explore and uncover their own culture. Next, they had to interview someone with a different culture, identify their differences and express them through a genre such as poetry, music, a PowerPoint presentation, essay or photo book.

“The cultural projects are designed to introduce students to the idea and concept of culture exploring their own and then encountering the other,” explained Susan Delaney-Choma, theology teacher at Mount Saint Mary. “Pope Francis encourages an encounter with the other and says that ‘every encounter is fruitful.’ Clearly, that was the case here.”

During her interview, Tillinghast, a resident of Watchung, learned how Hernandez left Peru at 17 years old, with a spirit of “bravery, independence, and a deep trust in God” and then settled in Perth Amboy where she became a Sister of Mercy and a Spanish and art teacher. She also taught religious education classes in Perth Amboy for nearly 20 years. She also learned about how Hernandez survived breast cancer.

“The elements of Sister Esther’s culture that are different from mine are the land (Peru), ethnicity (Hispanic), values (particularly the unity and community of knowing all of one’s neighbors), traditions (such as writing Christmas letters to Jesus instead of Santa, a live procession on Palm Sunday), language (Spanish), transportation (a minimal amount of street cars in her town), art as a part of her life (she taught art — from painting to embroidery), and religious life (we share the same religion, but she is not a layperson),” Tillinghast said.

“Listening to Sister Esther telling her story from her heart truly moved me,” she said. “I connected with the times when I felt lonely and sad to the far more difficult times she has been through, as well as the times when I felt happy and fulfilled to the great joy she has found in her vocation.”

Recently, Tillinghast began teaching religious education to youngsters at her parish, St. James the Apostle Church in Springfield, and she got a little encouragement from Hernandez who gave her a variety of books to help her in her efforts.

“I gained wisdom by talking to Sister Esther,” said Tillinghast, regarding her teaching role. “The love she has for her students is so visible, and this is something I wish to imitate.”

Tillinghast chose to write a poem, “Joy in Her Calling,” for her theology project which notes, “Though the years that have passed have not been without strife…Sister Esther’s calling has given her an unconquerable inner joy.”

When Hernandez saw Tillinghast’s poem upon a visiting Delaney-Choma’s classroom, she had tears in her eyes.

“She said that she had to ask herself, ‘Is this really me?” and then she showed the poem to the other Sisters of Mercy,” said Delaney-Choma. “This is mercy being passed on from generation to generation.”

When Tillinghast moves on through her college and professional career, she knows she will draw upon the inspiration she found in her encounter with Hernandez.

“She has taught me to stay committed to my dreams and to ask myself, ‘What is God calling me to do?' and to act on it,” she said.